Woes of Independence? by Brittany

Woes of Independence? by Brittany - November 2016 Scholarship Essay

Independence – a noun equating to growing up. According to dictionary.com, and most likely everyone’s mind, independence is the “freedom from outside control or support; not depending on another’s authority”. We, as humans, depend on many people. Most people depend on their parents until they’re eighteen years old. As babies, people depended on their parents to feed, bathe and clothe them. As a kid, most people have established the capabilities to do that themselves and, as a teenager, majority only seem to depend on their parents when they need money or dinner. Other than that, independence is claimed – at least, that’s what it seems like.

Independence is taking on the responsibility of being on your own without the authoritative figures of your parents looming over your shoulder. A lot of people, when first entering college, think that they’re ready for it, for the responsibility and living away from your parents. This is how my brother felt, and my aunt and uncle. Perhaps they are; everyone is engineered differently to react to certain things. I know that I’ve always been a pretty dependent person. I’ve never had a job, despite the fact that I’m seventeen. I barely even knew how taxes worked until a few months ago and I have yet to learn how to drive. It’s like being thrown into a hollow, darkened abyss when you start thinking about college, because the events of the future are unforeseen. I’ve always been able to call my parents if I needed help, but how would I do that in college? They surely wouldn’t drive several hours from their home if I was stranded, and if I needed money to buy a cute outfit, it’s very unlikely they’d send me a little something each time I asked.

But independence is all a part of the college experience. It leads you to who you really are, and opens a world of experiences to delve into. Independence is not something to be feared, it is something to be welcomed, which is why I think I’ll be most thankful for it. Growing up under the wings of my protective parents have forced me into this mindset of irrationality and fear, but I shouldn’t be terrified of what the world has for me, I should embrace it. College forces this sense of independence and freedom on you as it acts as this boat towards the real world. You can either make it to your destination with a few large, impactful waves on your journey, or you can hit an iceberg and sink. I’m hoping I'll go through the preceding one.

As a college student, I’d be able to really see how my life would be shaped. When faced with unfamiliar hardships, would I be able to overcome them? Will I be able to uphold a decent living space? Will handling large sums of money after a paycheck be difficult for me? Will I be able to even find a job? This is all a part of the process towards independence, and all of the things that I will discover during this experience. It won’t be easy, I can already tell, but it’s not meant to be. It’s supposed to help me grow and learn and make me uncomfortable and unsure of what to do so I know one day what the right thing to do is. What’s more to be thankful for?